

[Federal Register: September 22, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 184)]
[Notices]               
[Page 55525-55526]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22se06-155]                         

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

 
Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 
20549.

    Extension:

[[Page 55526]]

    Rule 27f-1 and Form N-27F-1; SEC File No. 270-487; OMB Control 
No. 3235-0546.

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (``OMB'') a request for extension of the previously approved 
collection of information discussed below.
    Section 27(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') (15 
U.S.C. 80a-27(f)) provides that ``[w]ith respect to any periodic 
payment plan (other than a plan under which the amount of sales load 
deducted from any payment thereon does not exceed 9 per centum of such 
payment), the custodian bank for such plan shall mail to each 
certificate holder, within sixty days after the issuance of the 
certificate, a statement of charges to be deducted from the projected 
payments on the certificate and a notice of his right of withdrawal as 
specified in this section.''
    Section 27(f) authorizes the Commission to ``make rules specifying 
the method, form, and contents of the notice required by this 
subsection.'' Rule 27f-1 (17 CFR 270.27f-1) under the Act, entitled 
``Notice of Right of Withdrawal Required to be Mailed to Periodic 
Payment Plan Certificate Holders and Exemption from Section 27(f) for 
Certain Periodic Payment Plan Certificates,'' provides instructions for 
the delivery of the notice required by section 27(f).
    Rule 27f-1(d) prescribes Form N-27F-1 (17 CFR 274.127f-1), which 
sets forth the language that custodian banks for periodic payment plans 
must use in informing certificate holders of their withdrawal right 
pursuant to section 27(f). The instructions to the form provide that 
the notice must be on the sender's letterhead. The Commission does not 
receive a copy of the Form N-27F-1 notice.
    The Form N-27F-1 notice informs certificate holders of their rights 
in connection with the certificates they hold. Specifically, it is 
intended to encourage new purchasers of plan certificates to reassess 
the costs and benefits of their investment and to provide them with an 
opportunity to recover their initial investment without penalty. The 
disclosure assists certificate holders in making careful and fully 
informed decisions about whether to invest in periodic payment plan 
certificates.
    The frequency with which each of these issuers or their 
representatives must file Form N-27F-1 notices varies with the number 
of periodic payment plans sold. Commission staff spoke with 
representatives of a number of firms in the industry that currently 
have periodic payment plan accounts. Based upon these conversations, 
the staff estimates that 3 issuers of periodic payment plan 
certificates send out an aggregate of approximately 535 notices per 
year. The staff further estimates that all the issuers that send Form 
N-27F-1 notices use outside contractors to print and distribute the 
notices, and incur no hourly burden. The estimate of annual burden 
hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 
and is not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey 
or study of the costs of Commission rules and forms.
    Complying with the collection of information requirements of Rule 
27f-1 is mandatory for custodian banks of periodic payment plans for 
which the sales load deducted from any payment exceeds 9 percent of the 
payment.\1\ The information provided pursuant to Rule 27f-1 will be 
provided to third parties and, therefore, will not be kept 
confidential. The Commission is seeking OMB approval, because an agency 
may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, 
a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid 
control number.
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    \1\ The rule also permits the issuer, its principal underwriter, 
its depositor, or its record-keeping agent to mail the notice if the 
custodian bank has delegated the mailing of the notice to any of 
them or if the issuer has been permitted to operate without a 
custodian bank by Commission order. See 17 CFR 270.27f-1.
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    General comments regarding the above information should be directed 
to the following persons: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503 or by e-mail to: 
David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Shirley 
Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312, or by e-
mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 
30 days of this notice.

    Dated: September 11, 2006.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06-7999 Filed 9-21-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
